BILL NUMBER: ACR 73	CHAPTERED  09/20/99

	RESOLUTION CHAPTER   116
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 20, 1999
	ADOPTED IN SENATE   SEPTEMBER 9, 1999
	ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 1, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 30, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Members Thomson and Wayne
   (Principal coauthors: Senators Alpert and Rainey)
   (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Aanestad, Alquist, Aroner, Bock,
Calderon, Cox, Dutra, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Leach, Lempert, Longville,
Lowenthal, Mazzoni, Migden, Romero, Soto, Strickland, Strom-Martin,
Washington, and Wildman)
   (Coauthors:  Senators Baca, Costa, Karnette, O'Connell, Ortiz,
Solis, and Vasconcellos)

                        JULY 1, 1999

   Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 73--Relative to
life-threatening disease and condition diagnosis and screening.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   ACR 73, Thomson.  Health screening and diagnosis.
   This measure would urge health insurers and health care service
plans to provide expeditious access to diagnostic and screening tests
to ensure medically appropriate and cost-effective use of innovative
treatments for life-threatening diseases and conditions, and would
urge patients to be active advocates in seeking access to appropriate
diagnostic and screening tests to support more informed treatment
decisions and to ensure that health insurers and health care service
plans provide coverage and payment.




   WHEREAS, Most forms of cancer pose a high probability of death
unless the course of the disease is interrupted; and
   WHEREAS, There is no cure and no known prevention for many forms
of cancer and many of the currently available treatments attack both
the cancer cells and healthy cells leading to associated morbidity;
and
   WHEREAS, Biomedical research is making strong progress by
identifying specific mechanisms that contribute to the growth of
cancer and this progress is leading to more targeted therapies that
combat the disease with more limited toxicities; and
   WHEREAS, Public and private payers generally provide coverage and
reimbursement for these innovative life-saving treatment options when
medically appropriate for a given patient; and
   WHEREAS, Diagnostic and screening tests can help identify those
patients for whom these innovative life-saving treatments would be
medically appropriate; and
   WHEREAS, Guidelines, including but not limited to those developed
for cancer diagnosis and care by the National Comprehensive Cancer
Network and the American Cancer Society, can help patients and
physicians use diagnostic and screening tests to determine which
treatments may be medically appropriate; and
   WHEREAS, The Legislature recognizes that the use of those
diagnostic and screening tests to ascertain medically appropriate use
of innovative treatments defines the standard of care for the
diagnosis and treatment of life-threatening diseases and conditions;
now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby respectfully urges
health insurers and health care service plans operating in the state
to provide expeditious access to diagnostic and screening tests in
order to ensure medically appropriate and cost-effective use of
innovative treatments for life-threatening diseases and conditions,
when those diagnostic and screening tests are recommended by
professional treatment guidelines, including but not limited to those
developed by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the
American Cancer Society; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Legislature urges patients to be active
advocates in seeking access to appropriate diagnostic and screening
tests in order to support more informed treatment decisions and in
following through to ensure that health insurers and health care
service plans provide coverage  and payment; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the Commissioner of Insurance and the Commissioner
of Corporations .
